Kim Cattrall dishes diet & food

Kim Cattrall recently phoned SheKnows for an exclusive chat about her new role as spokeswoman for I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter as well as her lifelong struggle with diet. Cattrall admitted that her role as a spokesperson for the butter substitute was a no-brainer for her as it continues a lifelong struggle trying to stay healthy and making food choices that not only are healthy, but taste great.

Kim Cattrall became a household name with her role as Samantha in the Sex and the City TV show and subsequent movie hits. The actress tells us that her battle with weight began when she was a contract player with the movie studios in the late '70's. She also dishes how her latest role in Meet Monica Velour allowed her to eat what she wanted for the first time in decades.

Kim Cattrall chats!

SheKnows: I wanted to ask why you chose to be a spokesperson for I Can't Believe It's Not Butter (ICBINB). Of all the products out there what it was about this one?

Kim Cattrall: I have an image out there of a woman, who has it all but the truth is, I do in certain circumstances, but I also have to be really smart about my choices and this is a product I do use. I used to be a contract player for the studio in the late '70s and I had baby fat. I was forced to lose weight. So, my choices have been changing since then and it's a really good product. They came to me with an idea and I already use the product and I thought yeah, I could get behind it and I've seen the other ads and in their own way it's very individual. We could make this fresh. We could make it fun. Why not create another character who's very positive and doesn't want to compromise taste?

SheKnows: Other than switching ICBINB for butter, what other food swaps do you use?

Kim Cattrall: You know something, this product is zero grams transfat -- all that kind of stuff can be horrible for you. It's not just about dieting it's about healthy eating. I'm watching my cholesterol. I'm having my mammogram. I'm aware of my thyroid and all that good stuff. You know your body is going through changes and you want a dietary plan that's going to ease that. So for me it's a no-brainer. It's a good product for me and good for my figure (chuckles).

SheKnows: Do you diet?

Kim Cattrall: I don't diet. I don't do that kind of stuff, but I'm more of an "aware of what I eat" person. I can cook with this (ICBINB). I can do more than put it on toast. It's a good standby and it's not going to destroy anyone's diet.

SheKnows: Is there a favorite meal you love to cook?

Kim Cattrall: Anything. When I was doing Monica Velour it was pasta. I had to gain weight for that role if you can believe it. [Laughs] Now we're back to the protein, the less fattening, which is a regime -- chipping away at the regime.

SheKnows: You mentioned being aware of your weight for quite a while. Is this a lifelong thing?

Kim Cattrall: It has to become a lifestyle, but it's just a choice that you automatically make. When you get to put weight on for something like Monica Velour you have to re-train yourself and think, "oh no, I can have the full calories," but now looking back on it, it's much more comfortable because my whole life I've loved to eat. I have a big appetite. I finish everything on my plate. I have since I was a kid. I was a little more finicky when I was as a kid, but I was never told to eat the vegetables. I'd already eaten them [laughs].

SheKnows: [Laughs]

Kim Cattrall: You have to pay that price because the camera puts ten pounds on you. I always have the mindset that I still have that baby fat and once I lost that I still had to keep that off.